Criminal policy of Kazakhstan in the sphere of countering to drunk driving

Abstract

The article examines the criminal policy of countering road accidents committed by drivers under the influence, implemented in Kazakhstan in connection with the trend of their constant growth. Based on the example of law enforcement practice of previous years, the authors conclude that the next measures to strengthen responsibility for drunk driving, adopted by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 27, 2019, will not bring tangible results due to ill-considered and illogical actions of the legislator. This is due to the fact that criminalization of Art. 345-1 and Art. 346 of the Criminal Code was carried out contrary to the Concept of legal policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the period from 2010 to 2020; due to the unsuccessful legislative structure of Art. 346 of the criminal code and the contradictory position of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the regulatory decree “On the practice of applying criminal legislation in cases of violations of traffic rules and vehicle operation” dated June 29, 2011, there are serious difficulties in its application in investigative and judicial practice; the courts are actively using the possibility of significantly reducing the punishment to the guilty or release from criminal liability in cases of reconciliation with the victim on the grounds stipulated by Paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Art. 55 of the Criminal Code and Part 1 of Art. 68 of the Criminal Code, etc. To resolve the existing shortcomings, thoughtful, consistent and criminologically justified actions of the state are required, which may contain the proposals provided by the authors.

Keywords:

criminal policy, criminal law, traffic crimes, state of intoxication, driving a vehicle, road safety